The present invention relates to improvements in bathtubs. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a bathtub having improved water inlet means for filling the tub with a mixture of hot and cold water.
Various systems have been proposed for discharging water into a bathtub for filling same while satisfying at the same time a specific need. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,198,631, for example, the conventional water faucets adjacent the drain at one end of the tub are replaced by a duct connected to hot and cold water supply pipes via a mixing valve and leading to one or more nozzles extending through the slanted wall of the tub at the other end thereof. When the mixing valve is turned on, the water enters the tub at the end opposite the drain and flows downwardly against the sides of the tub to fill the tub and, after the tub has been used, to thoroughly rinse the same and drive the water toward the drain. Thus, the water inlet arrangement proposed in this patent serves the dual purpose of filling the tub for a bath and later automatically rinsing it toward the drain.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,396,412, on the other hand, the conventional water faucets for filling the bathtub with water are retained, but in addition thereto, there is provided a pump with a conduit for recirculating the bath water for the comfort of the user. The pump which is located under the faucets at one end of the tub drains water from the tub and pumps this water through an imbedded conduit leading to a nozzle recessed in a head rest arranged at the other end of the tub. The pump water is mixed with air in the recessed nozzle through a remote air vent and discharged from the nozzle in the form of an aerated jet or spray over the neck and shoulders of the body.
Although the above arrangements may be satisfactory for their own specific purposes, they do not overcome the problem of non-uniform mixture of hot and cold water and the resulting water temperature fluctuations one is forever faced with when filling a tub for a bath. Indeed, with the conventional faucets located at the front end of the tub, the mixture of hot and cold water issuing from the faucet enters the tub at the front end and gradually flows towards the back end of the tub to fill the same, causing the heat of the water entering the tub to dissipate through the tub walls and escape to the open atmosphere as the water moves towards the back end. As a consequence, then are considerable temperature fluctuations within the bath water such that the water temperature will be greater at the front end of the tub than at the back end. Thus, prior to entering the tub, the user will have to churn the water around the tub with his hand in order to uniformly mix the hot and cold water and provide a uniform water mixture having a constant temperature.